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Female long-distance world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich has been banned for three years after the Kenyan acknowledged doping infractions.

Chepngetich was temporarily banned in the seventh month following a positive test for a banned substance - a prohibited substance often utilized as a concealing drug - on March 14.

The athlete's achievements which occurred before that sample - including her world record performance of 2:09:56 in Chicago in October 2024 - will remain valid.

The sports governing body had requested a four-year suspension but the 31-year-old penalty was reduced to 36 months because she confessed to the infractions.

However, the integrity unit will continue to investigate proof from the athlete's phone which it found indicate "a reasonable suspicion that her failed test may have been deliberate" - featuring communications dating back to the year 2022.

"The case regarding the failed test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the AIU will continue to investigate the suspicious material found on the runner's device to ascertain if any further infractions have taken place."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When questioned in April by the AIU, Chepngetich, the initial female to complete a marathon in under 2:10, could not provide an reason for the positive test.

While the substance has a minimum reporting level of 20 ng/mL in urine, Chepngetich's sample showed an approximate level of 3800 ng/mL.

Traces of the diuretic below the detection threshold were also found in a test collected from the runner 14 days prior, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on 11 July, Chepngetich was presented with the previously mentioned questionable proof obtained from her phone. Meanwhile, contamination had also been disproven by the authority.

The athlete changed her explanation on July 31, stating that she had used her domestic worker's medication - labeled as being the banned substance - after falling sick 48 hours prior to the failed test.

The unit had "serious reservations about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the context of the sport's doping rules, such "carelessness" is considered "implied intention, for which an increased four-year penalty applies".

An standard 12-month decrease was granted after the runner confessed to the doping breaches inside the specified 20-day period.

The three-year ban started on 19 April - when the athlete accepted a temporary ban - with the runner's performances, honors, championships, participation and earnings since 14 March forfeited.

"Nobody is above the rules."

"While unfortunate for those who had faith in this runner, this is how the process is designed to operate."

"The road-running industry should be commended for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts capable of uncovering substance abuses committed by elite athletes in their events."